Psychological Horror

[evanescence]

This is not the Monstrous Other; this is the fiend next door.

Examples: Psycho, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, the Collector, and Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte

It smells perfectly normal: a lovely, unassuming, traditional mid-20th century musk with something not quite right lying underneath.

I would happily spend my life in therapy for more of this Psychological Horror and am absolutely thrilled to do a review on it!

My first take on it out of the bottle was something reminiscent of Snow White perfume or Snowcake soap (not the shower gel, not the almondiness of Snowcake) .....I'm going to guess at benzoin being the note I'm picking up. On the skin, I get a light clean musk. Throw is on the lighter side.

This is a very hauntingly pretty, ethereal scent.... the name might suggest something heavier, but instead this is that much scarier sense of something swirling around you, never quite glimpsed, never quite captured.

Absolutely beautiful!

[Eutectic]

I agree with the snow white comparison in the wet stage but this has a lot going on besides. It is cool and clean and very calming. Slightly floral and smooth and well blened. I find this to be a very scary Psycological Horror as it brings to mind such tranquility but there is a note underneath that I'm having trouble identifying that makes this scent a bit more edgier than you would think from the first sniff.

[parrot_suspect]

Absolutely stunning.

 

Do you like powdery scents? If so, you must get this one. It's the most gorgeous, ethereal, powdery-musky blend ever. As it dries down, it loses a little bit of the powder and takes on more of a clean, yet elegant, skin scent.

 

It's not a heavy scent, but it has excellent lasting power. It's the kind of fragrance that makes people say, "You smell good" instead of "What perfume are you wearing?"

 

I really can't praise this enough. It's simply amazing. Not scary, creepy, or disturbing in any way. Just a beautiful, clean, powdery musk. Like you just took a shower and put on the world's very best smelling baby powder deodorant -- something far more sublime than Secret, Degree, etc. -- followed by clean linens that had been dried in the sun. All over a sheer musk skin scent.

 

Must. hoard. mass. quantities.

[Lycanthrope]

Again, due to Eutectic locality, I got to dab this on and try it.

 

So... I will just write my impression.

 

POWDER'D!!!

 

It's a very strong sweet musky powder aroma on me. Like whoa. I was informed there was something more sinister beneath it, but I think this is sinister enough on me already. Like I just got uppercutt'd by a baby who was just recently changed and surrounded by a cloud of talc. Mayhaps better on other folks' chemistry, because mine apparently not only amps lily and rose, but baby bum.

[The_Witching_Hour]

The more I thought about what I was smelling......the more I realized the genius behind this one.

 

Someone said up-thread this one has a tranquility about it. I agree with that impression as much as I think a 'psychological' horror would have a tranquil side to it; almost a comforting feel to it as well.

 

I see the sno-cake shower gel reference and is a bit in the same vein as Buck Moon as far as some musk.

 

Haunting and ethereal as it is, after 6-7 hours, the drydown is so soft that you wonder if it was ever there. Very well thought out.

 

Now THAT'S a psychological horror!

[angelicruin]

This is a gorgeous blend. Very soft and unassuming. And very feminine. It is powdery and slightly floral. It's fresh and yet haunting. This is a blend very hard to describe in a way that gives it the justice it deserves.

[Fefferbella]

I didn't expect to like this, but as it turns out, I LOVE it.

 

It's a soft, slightly floral (rose?) skin musk that reminds me of Velvet Nudie but better. My husband says it smells like soap and it does remind me of freshly washed skin.

 

Very light and pretty scent, I don't get the "something not quite right" at all. .

[Cheri]

Yeah, Evanescence, you were right about everything, except that Psycological Horror doesn't smell like Snow White in my opinion. What I get from it is a softer, more girly Delousing Powder. It's a pretty, powdery, and calming scent. I think I understand the psycho-ness because it starts out so soft and intensifies as time goes by, kind of like the psycho who tricks you into thinking everything is ok, and then something snaps.

Psycological Horror is beautiful and I should order another bottle before they're all gone. So, if you like soft, musky but not boring scents, you should try it.

[iiinterstate]

I'm trying to figure out what this reminds me of, but I can't do it. I almost want to say Candy Phoenix. Not that this is fruity or candylike... just the powdery feel I get is familiar.

 

But fortunately, its not ALL sweet powder. There is something else, which of course I cannot identify, that makes me keep coming back to this.

Whatever is not right about this blend smells JUST right on me And I don't usually care for powdery or floral blends.

[phantasmmysteria]

Okay, I have NO IDEA what's going on here, but my impression of this scent are so far out in left field I wonder if we are even sharing the same perfume!

 

When I first sniffed this the musk most closely resembled Ivanushka to me -- a sweetish-powdery-animalistic musk, but even out of the bottle I keept thinking, "there's something about this that I don't like." Just like any good future victim of this type of horror film, I dismiss my first sniff and swipe a bit on anyway.

 

This would be the part of the story where all hell starts to break loose.

 

This scent never gets to the point where I have to wash it off (though I didn't apply much), but it just slowly amps up on my skin over time, and eventually it gets to the point that smelling it actually makes me feel physically repulsed. Perfume... that gives me the creeps?? Holy shit!

 

Verdict: I don't know if this was Beth's intention for this perfume or not, but it's pure genius. I love musks, and I wish I could wear this one, but the simple fact that this rings so true to the feel of this horror genre makes me love it anyway.

[Leopard403]

I wish this were more Snowcake-y on me, because all I get is BABY POWDER!

SERIOUSLY SERIOUS BABY POWDER! POW BAM BOOM WITH THE BABY POWDER!!!

 

Oi.

 

It softens a little on my skin, and it really does smell lovely, but one dab on each wrist is a gracious plenty to fill up a room.

[Gale]

Wet: Sweet, powdery musk. Gorgeous.

 

On and dry: The same beautiful muskiness, but as time goes by it gets stronger and deeper, and I would say, elegant. Very odd.

 

This one is absolutley fascinating. It never reaches a stage where it becomes disquieting ,but it develops strangely, and I might need another bottle (not so strange!).

[furygrrl]

In the bottle: Mmm...candied violets that've been smooshed into a delectable powder.

 

On wet: YUM! Still getting that sweet musk/candied violet - which is actually going more candied rose the longer I sniff - combo. Absolutely delicious!

 

Drydown: Loving this. Smells like a bolder Tushnamatay that's been dusted with sweet candy powder. What an amazing blend. As others have mentioned, there definitely is something *else* underneath all those good notes, something I can't quite put my finger on, and it does indeed smell "off". Not in an icky way, mind, just something...sharp? biting? metallic?...that kind of peeps out from beneath that powder puff of yumness every now and then - especially when I get in close for a good whiff. I quite like it.

 

Overall: I'm a fan of sweet powdery-musky stuff, so this scent definitely works for me - it's got great throw, too. An easy 4/5.

[wintersmelody]

Oh wow. Just. WOW. This is one I was super super excited to try! I don't get the Snow White comparison that some do but it's more of a light powdery cleanliness without being soapy. And there's some floral going on as well but it's not in your face. And is that a bit of musk? It's just so well blended that it's hard to pick out one particular note. This is just an absolutely gorgeous blend.

[Iceblink]

Old-school perfumey, powdery (in a good way) floral...this just oozes ladylike femininity! It's got a slight soapy cleanness going on too (a touch of Joan Crawford there? ha!). Scents like this can be cloying and heavy but this is lighter and airy. I'd compare it to something like Darkness in the GC.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is an elegant, sophisticated perfume...

once applied musk and white florals with a violet note..very subdued...powdery....

cotton balls come to mind...or white puffy clouds...something

about the "white".... ....could it be white violets?

[surlygurl]

Violet Violet Violet Violet.... oh, wait. There's other stuff there, but I can't tell what, exactly. It's just a soft violet, almost powdery.

[madmmx]

I haven't indulged in any BPAL for more than 6 months because of no fragrance funds, but I HAD to try Psychological Horror. First, it's def my favorite horror genre, and I love anything that appears normal, but has that dark underbelly (Supernatural, X-Files, urban fantasy, etc).

 

I was a little worried reading the reviews before my decant arrived, as I don't wear floral scents...they trigger my allergies, and are too froo froo feminine for me. But I was pleasantly surprised!

 

First sniff in imp: Sweet, but not foody

Second drive by sniff: Light florals, kind of generic perfume ugh

Wet on skin: That intoxicating sweetness...must be the candied violets other posters have described (I totally don't know flowers beyond rose). I'd love to bathe in this at this stage

After 30 min: The sweetness backs off and rose comes forward, setting off a sneeze attack. Did NOT like the scent in this phase

After 4 hours: The rose has died down into the blend, thank goodness, and the sweetness keeps wafting in and out. There's a light powderyness to it as well. It's very odd, Psych Horror smells very traditional perfumey in one sense, but there's a golden quality to it that makes it full and gorgeous. At the same time, there is something sinister I can sniff deep down. Maybe it's psychosematic...

I'm a spicy scent kind of girl, but this is the first BPAL blend I've wanted to splurge on a full bottle!

 

Verdict: Psychological Horror is something Nicole Kidman would wear... if she were a serial killer. And I'm going to have to horde some more!

[bubblefish]

To me this smells like Old Lady. It's a sort of musky, almost sickly floral perfume -- mid 20th century sounds about right! That "something not quite" note is all I'm getting, because something about this one just doesn't smell pleasing to me. It's almost claustrophobic in a way and whereas others seem to find it tranquil I find it anything but.

[kohaisama]

Psychological Horror is strange. on me, it's like something syrupy sweet in baby powder form.

[sixthsentinel]

Hmmm... not sure what to make of this one.

 

The first stage is powder & something resembling... what? I almost think "hairspray," but more appropriately, I think it is reminding me strongly of Yog-Sothoth. Both Psychological Horror & Yog-Sothoth give the impression of an unfathomable void, a vacuum. It is at once amazing to me that this feeling can be realized in a perfume, but disconcerting, not completely pleasant as a fragrance.

 

However, somewhere around an hour later, PH is sweet. Very sweet, with just an edge of powder. It's beautiful! I'm actually thinking I need a bottle right as the boundless emptiness begins creeping back in....

 

I have to say, I am really impressed by PH as a concept. It perfectly embodies the nice, normal guy you exchange niceties with in the hall, never suspecting that the reason he lingers at his door before you walk away is that he doesn't want you to see the 55-gallon drums that line his living room.

Edited August 14, 2009 by sixthsentinel

[cinnamonster]

Well it's Horror alright.

 

My nose and skin are clearly nothing like anyone else's. There is no Ivanushka musk here for me.

 

It smells of CURRY. It's a kind fenugreek/cumin smell over violets. So glad I did not spring for a bottle of this. On me this is blech.

 

ETA, the next day the residual white musk that is left is kind of nice but not worth waiting for the curry to leave for, it has staying power though!

Edited August 10, 2009 by cinnamonmel

[Little Bird]

In the bottle, this smells like baby powder, sugar, and a sweet musk. I also flip between thinking that it smells sort of pink and sort of clean.

 

On my skin, this is powder, something syrupy and cloying-sweet, and the musk goes sharp and hairspray-esque. When I slather this on, it's intensely powdery with a cloying, perfumey sweetness.

 

Psych Horror just isn't good on me - too powdery and too musky-sweet. It actually reminded me of this carpet powder that my family used a lot when I was younger (you sprinkled it on to scent/deodorize carpet & then vacuumed it up). So, in my mind, I keep thinking that this is way too strong, too powdery, and too much like cleaning supplies. I suppose it also might smell like a really cheap, strong, cloying children's perfume.

 

I had to wash this off after a half hour, because it was starting to give me a headache. Cloying, musky powder. Bleh.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Rich golden oil. Sweet and foody - caramel? With maybe something musty underneath. A little bit plastic & dusty-musty as some bakery scents can be.

 

Wet: Sweeter, richer, almost buttery, with a slight spice note of some sort. It reminds me a lot of the cake note from Heusos de Santo, and a little like PX117 also, There's a hint of something bright that could be some type of citrus or fruit, but I can't pin it down. I get something nutty, maybe coconutty?

 

Dry: The roommate says: smells like curry. And I have to agree - it has some sort of Indian spice that makes the whole blend oddly savoury-sweet & exotic/spicy the way that Red Lantern is. I also get some of the Buck Moon musk, which is that coconut note I note...and call me crazy, but maybe cashew?

 

Later: Still a weird sharp (sort of almost citrusy-sour) note I can't quite place, though it's not unpleasant, just odd and striking despite being kind of faint. And I know what the spice is - fenugreek! Definitely, for sure, without a doubt. The fenugreek could be responsible for both the sharpness and the curry feel.

 

Summary: After a while it goes oddly soapy - like the taste of soap in your mouth, not the actual smell of soap. Then there's a sort of dirty, BO-like coconutty musk (also reminds me much of the musk in Devil's Night) and that weird astringent & exotic fenugreek., all over a brown sugar-cake base. A very bizarre scent! Strong throw & longevity.

 

 

 

[spiresinthesnow]

I think this scent is playin games,.. mind games. Its totally awesome at first! yummy musky goodness, kinda like the musk in Snow White. Then it does go powdery, fast. Maybe that was the concept they were aiming for? Its one of those scents I keep trying over and over and can never decide if I like it or not. Occasionally the musk will peek out. I just might get a bottle to ponder.